


Be my lil Baby

by babysolo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Dirty Dancing, F/M, Slow Burn, alternate universe- dirty dancing, human disaster baby solo, mambo fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-11 08:21:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21899548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babysolo/pseuds/babysolo
Summary: The Dirty Dancing AU the nobody, literally nobody, asked for but everyone needs after TROS. They don't fight, they do the mambo.Ben = Baby and Rey = Patrick Swayze. Don't @ me.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Zorii Bliss/Poe Dameron
Comments: 11
Kudos: 50





	1. Be my baby

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I'm hurting. So this happened. I invite you all to my collective therapy session.

It was the summer of 1963, the summer everyone called him  _ Baby _ , and for some reason, it had not occurred to him to mind yet. 

It had probably been born out of his mother’s tendency towards the nickname and was now only exacerbated by the irony of a diminutive that hardly fit now that he had grown into his tall frame and unusual features. 

The summer before his dad had still been able to look him straight in the eye, when now he had to distinctly tilt his head upwards. 

Physically then, Ben Solo was anything but a baby. Where his limbs used to be skin on bone, there was now strong chords of sinewy muscle. Not to mention the strong set of shoulders attached to a broad chest that was anything but infantile. 

This new physique had developed over hours of swim team training sessions. A team sport he had joined to please his father, that had involved the least amount of social interaction. 

Yet some things never change, like his dark hair that fell in easy waves in his eyes, or the constant expression of petulant impatience. 

Emotionally too, Ben still had a lot of growing to do. He had never truly grown out of his toddler temper tantrums, and the stubbornness he had inherited from not one, but  _ two,  _ parents decidedly did not help.

It was their first time at Calrissian’s summer resort. Situated in Naboo, an idyllic place with lots of trees, fields and lakes, the humidity at the resort made poor Chewie’s hair frizz even more than normal.

Ben gave him an affectionate pet on his head as they finally pulled up to the resort, where Mr. Calrissian and a younger woman stood, ready to receive them with open arms and matching toothy grins. A slow sense of trepidation overcame Ben. this would be some summer… 

As they clambered out of the Falcon (a light blue Cadillac that Ben was secretly convinced his father loved more than his own son, or  _ even _ Chewie), he braced for the cruciating small talk that was about to commence. 

“Han,” Calrissian said, giving his father a firm handshake and clapping him on his bicep in that awkward yet affirmative way men do when they greet each other, grabbing and/or slapping maybe slightly firmer than polite society might consider appropriate. 

“Good to see you, my friend.” 

“Lando,” Han replied with a nod and a sly grin. “It’s been too long.”

“Too long indeed,” Calrissian then turned to his mother, “Leia, as beautiful as ever I see,” he said, taking his mother’s hand, kissing her knuckles softly. What an old flirt. Ben had to resist the almost overbearing urge to roll his eyes. 

Finally, Calrissian arrived at him, half-heartedly attempting, and failing, to hide behind his parents, Ben offered his hand and he took it and gave it a good shake. 

“Good grip you got there, Baby. This is my daughter Jannah,” Jannah smiled and made her round of equally charming introductions. “She’s just finished her first year at college, just like you, Baby!” Ben just smiled politely, careful as ever to avoid showing his uneven teeth, trying to get through the conversation as painlessly as possible. 

He then motioned to a tall member of staff with a head of aggressively ginger hair, standing just slightly behind them.

“This is Armitage Hux, he’ll show your rooms and help you settle in.” Calrissian then turned to Hux, “Armitage, please take care of Senator Organa and her family, this woman saved my life once, you know.”

He winked at Ben and left to greet other guests that were arriving. 

After Hux had given them a tour of the resort - at least it seemed to be large enough that Ben could make a valiant attempt to avoid his parents as much as possible - he gave them a run down of the itinerary for the rest of the day, with a smile that was just a bit to polished to be genuine. 

“At three there’s an introductory dance class with Poe Dameron,” at the mentioning of this name Hux’s brow made the slightest twitch, almost imperceptible unless one made a habit of observing people, like Ben had for years. 

Hux continued, “then, at four Calrissian’s happy hour begins, which runs till six. Dinner is served at seven, after that there’s music and dancing every evening in the ballroom hosted by Miss Maz Kanata. If there’s anything else, please do not hesitate to ask.” Ben wondered what this british twerp was doing in North Carolina. 

Thankfully, Han tipped him and Hux swiftly left their rooms. 

“I think it’s about time, Baby.” Ben had learnt from a young age that whenever his mother started sentences with:  _ I think it’s about time _ , something dreadful and inescapable would follow. 

“I think it’s about time, Baby,” she repeated herself, “that you start to learn how to have a proper dance with a woman.” There it was. God. Why did his mother have to come from the upper echelons of New England society.

Although he had managed to avoid attending any debutant balls, there would undoubtedly be more galas he would have to attend, not least now that she had recently been re-elected. He sighed and whined, “do I really have to?” It was worth a shot, unfortunately, his mother knew a thing or two about stubbornness as well. 

“Yes, Baby, it’s something I always thought lacked in your education, and how are you supposed to get a girlfriend if you can’t even dance with a girl?” She quirked an eyebrow and Ben could see the glint in her eye that showed that she was going to enjoy this new plan of hers. What a deviant. 

Truly, whoever thought his father was the bigger miscreant, they were  _ wrong.  _

“I don’t know, Mother, perhaps through conversation? Poetry?”  _ We all know how talented I am at those,  _ he finished in his head. 

“No, Baby, that’s for when you’re already  _ in _ a relationship. For courtship I recommend dancing’, her eyes flitting to Han, who wisely remained silent, she finished: ‘ even when one’s partner is barely tolerable.” 

\-------------

The class was led by Dameron, who Hux had mentioned with such disdain, a guy of Ben’s age with a smile and easy charm that women of  _ every _ age loved. 

Accordingly it was dominated by women in their early to late fifties. Lovely. Most of them seemed more concerned with gaining Dameron’s attention than learning the steps. 

Ben really tried. At first. It was just that he felt so ill at ease during the full hour of the class as he struggled along with the stiff steps, that eventually he became so frustrated he was ready to rip of Dameron’s head. His own hips simply  _ refused _ to move like that, and, by the end he just felt like a mess of overly large, useless limbs. The elegance of a hippopotamus. This is why he had always avoided those balls. 

He was glad when the class was over and he could walk it off before he would burst and actually ruin his future by murdering a hapless dance instructor, 

When he returned for dinner after a bit of exploring of the grounds, his parents were waiting for him at the table. Ben could see that they clearly hadn’t passed up the offer of happy hour, the pair being slightly sloshed and a little bit too public with their display of teasing affection. 

Why was he here again. Oh right. He had promised Leia. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Jannah to catch on and save him. 

_ Unfortunately _ , though, saving him meant taking him to the ballroom, which meant  _ more _ dancing. He couldn’t really leave Jannah now, his manners and good up-bringing getting the better of him. He got through one awkward waltz with her - she was nice enough to withhold commenting on his moves, or lack there of - when a couple of dancers came in, the guy he recognized as Dameron, the girl however he was sure he hadn’t seen before. He would’ve remembered. 

The band started playing a faster tune, “Mambo! Ah come on, Baby.” She looked so happy that Ben got roped into another dance with her. This one was somehow worse than the one before. 

He tried to stay with the steps and Jannah’s easy movements, but his attention kept being pulled towards the newly arrived couple. They had big smiles on their faces and their steps flowed smoothly from one into the other. It seemed as if they had danced like this a million times before. 

“Who’s that?” Ben asked Jannah, trying to sound as disinterested and aloof as possible. Jannah looked over to where Ben was gesturing, 

“Oh them,” she said, a subtle trace of affection in her voice. “They’re the dance people.” With that, said dance people started travelling in big steps across the space. 

“They’re here to, uhm,” Jannah paused, “ _ keep the guest happy. _ ”

The couple continued on, breaking apart and joining each other again, the girl swishing her pink skirts and throwing her head back in laughter. 

Jannah frowned, “they shouldn’t be showing of with each other, that’s not gonna sell lessons,” slightly shaking her head.

In his mind, Ben couldn’t help but disagree. Especially since he’d just seen the girl twirling, kicking her leg up to her forehead and dipping low low low, all in a matter of seconds. 

Ben and Jannah had stopped moving and he tried to keep his face as neutral as possible. 

At some point Calrissian had entered and after another dizzying amount of spinning and even a lift, he gave the couple a not-so subtle sign to  _ knock it off right now. _ They broke apart with only a hint of annoyance, turning to the guests. 

  
  


“I have to go,” Jannah said with a quick glance at her watch, “I’ll see you later, yeah, Baby?” Ben nodded and gave a small reassuring smile. 

He was glad she had to go, this meant he could get some fresh air and get away from the stuffy ballroom that had no business being this warm with the A/C in overdrive as it was. He sat down in one of the lawn chairs and felt his eyes slowly begin to close. 

Finally some peace and quiet. 

\-------

He was rudely awoken by the sound of laughter from people leaving the ballroom and returning to their rooms. He ran a hand over his face, gave his head a little shake to get rid of the crick in his neck and stood up to go back to his room. 

That was easier said than done however as he ended up walking towards the staff quarters, completely losing his way on the now dark, sprawling paths through the resort. As he drew closer he heard some faint music playing. 

He was about to cross the bridge that fed into a large staircase attached to the staff rooms, when he saw a tiny dark-haired girl carrying three huge watermelons by herself.

He could almost hear his father’s voice reprimanding him for not doing the gentlemanly thing to offer his help. 

“Hi,” he began, the startled girl gave him a confused look. 

“How’d you get here?” she said, concern and accusation in her voice.

“I was taking a walk-“ he replied, 

“Go back,” she said, watermelons already slipping from her arms. 

“Just let me help you,” Ben said, arms reaching so he could take the watermelons from her. 

“No.” She said stubbornly, turning away from him. She was surprisingly strong for her size. He grabbed one of the watermelons anyway. 

“What’s up here?” He nodded his head towards the building at the top of the stairs.

“No guests allowed. House rules. Why don’t you go back to the playhouse?” she said with a cheeky smirk. “I saw you dancing with the little boss lady.” 

Ben rolled his eyes and gave back his watermelon, ready to walk away with overly resigned posture, if she wanted to be a dick then so be it. The girl sighed.

“Can you keep a secret?” she asked, Ben turned back towards her and tried to take two watermelons from her this time, she stubbornly turned away and out of his reach when he tried to grab another one. 

“Your parents would kill  _ you _ .” She warned, dead serious now. “Lando would kill  _ me _ ,” she breathed. 

They made their way up the stairs, the music slowly becoming louder and louder. At the top the girl bumped the door open with her hip, almost dropping her comically large watermelons. 

Ben then entered a smoky, barely lit room filled with couples of his age in all states of undress, dancing very,  _ very _ , closely with one another. It was dancing unlike he’d ever seen before, roaming hands, shaking hips.

He could almost feel his jaw drop and his ears heat up. Thank god for his hair.

“Where’d they learn to do that?” Ben asked, in slight shock. 

“Where?” the girl said, “I don’t know. Kids are doing it in the basements back home.” 

She looked at Ben. “Wanna try it?” She prompted with another cheeky grin. Ben quickly and vehemently shook his head, he could feel his anxiety spike. The girl, just let out a small sweet laugh. 

“Come on, Baby.” And she led him through the crowd of dancers to a table where he could put down his watermelons. He tried not to think too much about the suspicious looks that were thrown at him while he passed. 

It only occurred to him then that the girl knew who he was, yet he still didn’t know her name. He was about to ask for it when the couple from earlier came in, Poe and the mysterious girl in the pink dress. 

At this point, Poe had opened the front of his dress shirt and the girl’s hair was now down instead of up, falling in soft waves to her shoulders. They were greeted by the crowd with loud cheers, claps, and big smiles. No sooner had they entered or they had joined in the heavy dancing.

The girl caught Ben staring. 

“That’s my friend, Rey Niima, she got me the job here.” She pointed towards the girl in pink then offered her own hand, “I’m Rose, by the way.” 

Ben shook it and was about to introduce himself, “I’m B - ,” when Rose interrupted him, “Yeah,  _ Baby _ , I know.” She winked and they turned back to watch the dancers. 

“They look great together.” Ben said, awe obvious in his voice. They did - all smooth muscle and easy movements. Not to mention how conventionally attractive they both were. 

“Yeah,” Rose agreed, “you’d think they were a couple.”

“Well, aren’t they?” Ben asked, a frown creasing his forehead. 

“Nah,” Rose shook her head, “not since we were kids.”

_ Interesting _ , Ben thought.

It was mesmerizing, almost hypnotizing to see those two dance together, pulsing and melting and bouncing on and on. 

But then, the girl in pink,  _ Rey _ , was her name, broke away from Poe and was walking in their direction. No, not his  _ direction _ , Rey was walking towards  _ him.  _

Ben suddenly found it hard to breathe. God, he had to resist the urge to run his hand through his hair, thus exposing his flaming ears. When she had reached them she turned to Rose.

“Hey Rose,” she smiled towards her friend, “what is he doing here?” Rey slowly looked him up and down, suspicion clear in her voice and eyes. 

“Oh, he came with me.” Rose replied with an easy reassuring smile.

Now was the time for him to say something, to introduce himself at the least. 

“I carried a watermelon.” He blankly stated. This would be an ideal moment for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Why was he so awkward.  _ Why.  _ Rey looked at him, gave a small nod and returned to the dancefloor.

The moment Rey had turned her back Ben ran a hand through his hair, looking at the ground and muttering in disbelief, “’I carried a watermelon’??”

  
  



	2. You don't own me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow did it really take you a month to update? Yeah man, it be like that sometimes.  
Thanks for kudos and comments, it's my new drug.  


Ben had almost processed the embarrassment that was him and that introduction, when he caught Rey approaching him. Again. However this time, her eyes held a mischievous glint, rather than suspicious one.

She took her time crossing the space, shimmying her way through the crowd. All it took for her to get him in a state of nervous jitters was her smile and the way she crooked her finger, beckoning him closer.

He gulped. Did she really mean him? He repressed the urge to look passed his shoulders and check. 

Then... she grabbed his hand - and Ben had to suppress a shiver at the warm soft touch - and led him onto the dancefloor.

He was caught somewhere between extreme anxiety at the prospect of _ dancing _ and extreme attraction towards this lithe woman who was leading him there. Luckily it seemed the latter part that was pushing him to follow her would win out.

When they were in the midst of all the dancers, she let go. 

“Okay,” she said, her smile had transformed from playful into one of sweet encouragement, 

“Bend your knees,” her accent, from what he could hear over the music, lilted in a strange way, decidedly un-Virginian. She pressed lightly on his shoulders to get him to unlock his knees. 

“Good - now - hips.” Ben felt like an idiot. Complete buffoon. He did the tiniest swivels and worriedly looked around to see how in the hell these people did all these seemingly fluid movements.

Had any of them seen that? God, Rey definitely had. Truly caught between wanting to please her and not wanting to make an utter fool of himself.

In all likelihood he would fail at both. In fact: _ probably too late for that. _

Rey didn’t miss his unease, “Watch my eyes,” she said with another supportive smile and effortless demonstration.

He observed closely, it being one of his stronger assets, and tried again.

He slowly got the hang of it, with Rey’s cheerful encouragements of “Better,” and “Now roll this way,” and her hands on his hips nudging him in the right direction. When Rey was satisfied that he had it, or at least something that was close enough to _ it _, she loosely threw her arms around his neck with a little laugh.

His hands automatically found their home on her waist and the small of her back. He began to see the appeal of this dancing thing. 

Rey was thankfully leading, apparently trusting him enough not to let her fall on her, dare he say, impressively toned, ass, while she attempted a little dip. Ben realised that this was the first time he actually enjoyed dancing, which probably had more to do with the woman in his arms than the activity itself.

He idly had the thought that he could live this moment - this dark room and heaving music and people sliding around each other - forever.

The smile in Rey’s eyes was no longer encouraging but only free, and open. He felt a tinge of envy at such a carefree smile. More than that - it materialised in him the sure conviction that, whatever else happened this summer, he would make it his mission to fill it with that smile. 

\---

  
  


The next morning, Ben decided it was time to go for a swim. After a quick breakfast with his parents, who were still suffering from the fallout of their happy hour from yesterday, he packed a bag with the essentials, towel, sunglasses, bottle of water, sunscreen, and his current read: _ The Prince _ by Machiavelli - Leia had insisted he could not take a poli sci course without having read it. Dressed in his trunks and grey cotton shirt, he headed down to the nearest lake where a bunch of different games and activities had begun. 

As he walked across the lawn, flip flops slapping obnoxiously against his heels, he spotted Rey with another girl, a little older than Rey with long dark blonde hair. Ben vaguely remembered seeing her in the crowd of dancers last night. They were leading what Ben thought was supposed to be a couples yoga class, the students however had a hard time following their tutors, with most of them more invested in each other than the actual poses. 

Continuing onto the sandy beach by the lake he found few chairs remained unoccupied, so when his eyes landed on a free one that even came with some shade, he speed-walked to it quickly before anyone else could snatch it. He dropped his bag and towel on it, the unspoken rule now claiming the seat to be his. He stepped out of his slippers and took off his shirt, suddenly very aware of the people around.

Ben had never really been one to blend in with the crowd, his height made sure of that. But over the past year the kind of looks he’d gotten had changed. Looks of pity had changed into those of appreciation and envy. If Ben were honest, it felt kind of good - powerful in its own way. Though he felt deeply committed to the concept of not drawing unnecessary and unwanted attention to oneself.

Quickly, he waded into the water, happy to find that the temperature wasn’t too cold. After he’d gotten in waist deep, he dived down deeper.

It felt good to be in the water again, it calmed him, cleared his mind. He swam further and further till the sounds of the other guests were a mere rumble in the background. He floated for a bit, looking at the deep, almost azure sky. These were not quite so frequent in Boston or NYC for that matter. For a bit he finally felt thankful to have the reprieve from the city.

Dinner that evening was rough, mostly because Hux kept on trying to charm his mother and she was politely, and probably somewhat amusedly, playing along. Post-dinner activities again consisted of dancing, though Ben got to stay out of this one fortunately since his parents were deeply engaged in conversation by that point.

He saw Rey, on the other side of the ballroom, in a slinky flowy white halter dress that starkly contrasted with her tanned and freckled skin, dancing with an old man. He could not have been a day younger than 119. There was something ominous and sinister oozing from the man, his repulsively wrinkled and scarred face didn’t help his case. The ease in Rey’s posture showed that this wasn’t her first time dancing with the man, though Ben couldn’t miss the hint of apprehension in her eyes.

She had a polite smile on her face, convincing bystanders, and maybe herself as well, Ben mused, that she wasn’t at all put off by his aura. 

“That’s Snoke,” Lando said, having caught Ben looking, “he’s one of the bungalow bunnies, that’s what we call the singles who stay here all week long.”

Looking too long at the old man made Ben feel sick. Something felt very wrong about the whole situation. He needed to get out of there, get some fresh air or something, so he took off without any particular destination in mind.

After some significant wandering about he found himself, as he seemed to keep doing, ending up at the lake. He stood there for a moment, just quietly watching the stillness of the water. 

“Do you want any company with your dramatic brooding, or is that really just a solo activity?” A voice shocked him out of his revery. “What’s up, Baby?” Jannah frowned, her teasing tone now replaced by one of mild confusion. 

“I- It’s just- I’m- ” he started, trying to form his feelings into a coherent string of words, “I just needed to get out of there.”

“Yeah, I get it, the bunnies slobbering all over everyone can be a bit hard to watch at times...” she nodded emphatically. “Hey, I know something that always cheers me up.” 

What else was he supposed to do than follow her with that hopeful smile and mischievous glint in her eye. She was hard to say ‘no’ to and he suspected she knew that. Turns out her remedy came in the form of, admittedly welcome, rocky road ice cream.

Jannah had just opened the freezer when he heard a tiny sniffle coming from somewhere inside the kitchen. He whipped his head around and found the source in an instant. It was the girl who led the yoga class with Rey this morning. They made eye contact and she gave her head the tiniest shake. Ben got the hint and tried to casually get Jannah to leave the kitchen with him. He had no intention to intrude on someone’s private matter.

“Do you know what,” he said, already moving towards the door, “I’m quite tired, I think I’m just going to go back to my room and have an early night.”

“Oh yeah, alright.” Jannah said with a wariness in her voice. “Goodnight, Baby.”

Ben nodded, and after checking that Jannah was gone headed back to the ballroom where he found Rose. He told her about the girl in the kitchen and Rose’s eyes immediately widened in panic. Without hesitating, she tapped Rey on her shoulder, interrupting her dance with Snoke, who, Ben realised, she had still been dancing with apparently. Rey’s brows knitted in concern, she gave Snoke and apologetic smile and made her excuses.

She then walked out of the room, head held high, with such a brisk pace, that some, in less polite company, would call storming. Fortunately Ben’s long legs could easily catch up, Rose however, had a harder time, her breath coming and going in quick pants as they reached the back rooms of the kitchens.

“What’s he doing here?” Rey asked, shooting an annoyed glare at Ben, all her charm from earlier had seemingly instantaneously evaporated. An unwelcome blush started to creep up Ben’s neck and ears. 

“I brought him along in case Jannah came back.” Rose said flustered. 

“Zorrii just doesn’t think,” Rey said, shaking her head and opening the kitchen door.

They entered one by one and headed over to the hobs where Zorrii was still sitting, shaking, with tears streaming down her cheeks. This time however, she wasn’t alone, but she was joined by Rey’s dancing partner from the other day, Poe, who currently held her hands and tried to calm her down. 

“What’s wrong?” Ben asked Rose tentatively, “What’s the matter with her?”

“She’s knocked up, Baby.” Rose said, a resigned look on her face. 

“Rose!” Rey hissed.

“Well, what’s _ he _ going to do about it?” Ben blabbed and felt the anger in him rise. He couldn’t believe how that guy could be so careless and irresponsible to let that happen.

“‘What’s he going to do about it?’” Rey’s eyebrows rose with indignation. “Oh, it’s _ his _ right, you immediately think it’s his.” She shook her head in disdain. 

Ben’s cheeks heated with shame.

Poe scooped the somewhat calmer Zorrii up into his arms and they all followed him towards the staff quarters. 

He lowered her on the worn sofa, quickly throwing a blanket around her shoulders. Zorrii gave him a small smile filled with gratitude before erupting in another round of sobs. 

“It’s hopeless,” she said, her hand coming up to her forehead. 

“Don’t say that,” Ben started - even though emotions like this made him feel incredibly uncomfortable - he really did feel for the girl. “There has to be a way to work it out.” 

Zorrii looked at him, noticing his presence for the first time, “What’s your name?” she asked coolly.

“I’m B- Baby,” Ben stuttered, mentally already chiding himself as his cheeks were quickly warming. 

“Baby?” Zorrii’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline, “Well, Baby, you don’t know shit about my problems so stay out of it.”

“Actually, Zorrii, I told him.” Rose muttered soft and unsure. 

“Jesus, Rose,” Poe whipped around, “now he’ll go to tell his little management girlfriend and we’ll all get fired.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Ben’s eyes landed on Rey, who had already been looking at him, her face, a still mask devoid of emotion. He had to make it clear he was _ not _ involved with Jannah. Rey had been quiet, worryingly so. “I won’t tell.” He added, still keeping eye contact with Rey.

“Yeah why not skywrite it: ‘Zorrii got knocked up by Hux, the ginger menace” Zorrii muttered her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

Ben tried _really_ _hard _not to show any reaction to this new piece of information. Hux was the father? Sleezy, oily, carrot top Hux? How would anyone, let alone a pretty girl like Zorrii, let him anywhere near them? He had to ask, just to check that he hadn’t misheard them.

“Hux?” He tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible but the undertone of disgust was hard to hide. This seemed to trigger something in Rey as she stood up taking in a deep breath, ready to rip into him. Before she could get the chance however, Rose interfered.

“Look, Baby,” she put up her hands between him and Rey, “One of the counselors know a doctor, a real M.D., who is traveling through Naboo for one day next week. We can get an appointment but it cost 250 dollars.”

Ben was reminded of what Hux had said over dinner when he had been shamelessly trying to charm his mother, something about this car he had been saving up for. 

“But if it’s Hux, it’s no problem,” Ben began to ramble, “I know he has the money, he was bragging about it earlier tonight, I’m sure that if you tell him-”

Zorrii looked at him, “He knows,” she simply stated. 

“Just go back to your playpen, Baby.” Rey said unblinkingly. It felt like a dismissal.

He was somewhat insulted she would so easily cast his help aside. So. Ben counted to five in his head, trying to calm the all consuming rage that had built up. He took a deep breath and raised his head up high. If these people did not want his help - that would be their loss. He would simply enjoy the rest of his summer getaway.

He turned to Rey, looking down into her upturned eyes. God she was being steely. He took exactly one second to appreciate the freckles on the bridge of her nose before gritting his teeth and grunting out:

“As you wish.” 

He turned around and left.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hi or come yell at me: https://intergalacticicebear.tumblr.com


	3. Overload

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long!! Life be crazy ya'know. 
> 
> I'm so so grateful for the comments and kudos, they never fail to make me smile :)
> 
> May the Fourth be with you <3

Ben tossed and turned all night, he couldn’t seem to turn his mind off, his thoughts drifting back to Zorrii and her situation. The few moments he did seem to lose himself to sleep he returned to the same nightmare. 

Some crooning voice in the back of his head, saying he’s made the same mistake as his grandfather, all his potential thrown away by a teenage pregnancy.

He’s had this nightmare before, it’s familiar territory, only this time - this time he’s the one with the swollen belly. In a flash he’s holding this dream baby, (at least his subconscious did not make him dream through the horror of birthing it). But the dream baby in his arms has a dusting of orange hair, its face already twisted into a sneer. 

He awoke covered in sweat, ensnared in the sheets. 

Staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, he marveled what the fuck that dream was. He tried to shake it off and go back to sleep but every time he closed his eyes he saw that wretched ginger spawn snootily looking back at him. So he stayed up and the moment it was socially acceptable for him to be up, he went to confront the ginger would-be daddy. He could think of few people to rile him up to such a degree of anger and frustration. What a waste of space. 

It was 6AM as he angrily stomped his way down to the staff bungalows. Finding the one belonging to the waiting staff empty he made for the breakfast room. Hux would step up, and if he didn’t, so help him Ben would make him. He tried his best to conceal the disgust that was clear on his face, schooling his features in a neutral manner. This was something he had plenty of practice with. He would not be a politician's son if not for his superb poker face; it was often imperative that  _ people  _ did not know what he was feeling. He nevertheless had some trouble with not letting the contempt seep through his voice when he spoke. 

“Hux.”

The ginger menace who was setting the table for breakfast, turned to face him. 

“What do you want, Baby?” Hux rolled his eyes at him. 

_ Never to dream about ginger babies ever again, for a start. _

“Can we talk?”

“Then talk.”

“It’s private.” Ben insisted through gritted teeth. He had no trouble airing Hux’s dirty laundry but he rather doubted he would be doing Zorii any favours by doing so. 

“Baby, I’m working and  _ some _ of us try to take that seriously.”  _ Could he stop calling him that.  _ He easily had a couple inches and forty pounds on the twerp.  _ What an asshole.  _

“Okay then,” Ben said, crossing his arms, “why the ever living fuck are you not dealing with this Zorii situation?” 

“Who told you that?” Hux spat in disgust.

“I don’t see how that matters-” Ben began.

“I bet it was that vile little scavenger,” Hux spat, shaking his head, “tell you what, Baby, I didn’t work my arse off all summer to bail out some girl who probably shagged her way up and down the whole resort. It’s not my problem”

Ben had to clenched his fists at his sides, trying to contain the overwhelming urge to punch Hux right in the face. 

“You make me sick.” Ben hissed and promptly turned to leave to contain his composure and avoid getting a criminal record just before his second year of college. He halted when Hux spoke.

“Some people count and some people don’t.” He said with a smirk. “You’ll find that out soon enough,  _ Baby.” _

He turned around one more time, the muscle below his eye twitching, turning red in the face, as he forced out through gritted teeth: ‘Call me  _ Baby _ one more fucking time, Hux’, he could vaguely see the idiot blanche, perhaps realising that this is was not a fight he would win, before turning around. 

Ben didn’t look back, he squared his shoulders, raised his chin and headed towards plan B.

\------

He really would have preferred to stick to plan A, since plan B involved his parents, more specifically, _his_ _mother._ He found his parents on the golf course, his father cheating his way through while his mother was making perfect clean strokes. 

“Mother-” He started,

“Yes, Baby?” said Leia, glancing up from her game. “Baby, are you using the sun lotion we brought, you know your skin’s sensitive and I’ve seen enough burn victims in my day to-” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Ben said dismissively,  _ he wasn’t twelve _ , “Mother, someone’s in trouble.”

His mother raised a perfect brow at him, urging him to go on. He began again.

“Someone is in trouble and you always told me that if someone was in trouble you should try and help them and well here’s me, trying.” He took a deep breath. “Can you lend me $250?”

“Baby, what’s going on are you alright?” she frowned at him, suspicion evident in her voice. Oh how he regretted not taking that job at the drive-in cinema last summer. If only he had been  _ slightly _ less financially dependent upon their good will. 

“No, no it’s not me, I’m fine, but can you loan in to me?” He tried to look as innocent as possible. Sometimes the puppy eyes still worked on her.

“What’s this about? We made an agreement to be honest with each other, Baby.”

“I can’t tell you - I can’t, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not illegal is it?” She had that dip between her brows, the one she complained made her look old and always appeared whenever she was particularly concerned about some new legislation. 

Ben swallowed, hard. He was not a good liar. “No mother,”

“Of course, that was a stupid thing to ask.” Leia smiled at him. “I’ll have it ready before dinner.”

An intense feeling of relief and gratitude flooded Ben, he smiled and bent down to embrace his mother briefly wondering when exactly she had gotten so small. She was somewhat taken aback but quickly quickly recovered and returned the hug.

  
  


\--

After dinner Ben made his way to the staff quarters, which upon his arrival he already found bustling with their favourite activity. He easily spotted Zorrii in the dimly lit room, his height making his life easier for once. He weaved his way around the couples, trying not to stare for too long. It was warm and he felt as if he was intruding on something too intimate, regardless of the number of people there. Where he came from people just didn’t dance  _ like that.  _

Arriving at his destination he cleared his throat and Zorii, who’d previously been talking to Rey, turned to face him. Ben nodded his head towards the back of the room, further away from the music and dancing. The girls followed him to the side room. Zorrii, Rey and Rose, who always seemed to appear out of thin air, all waited silently for him to start. 

“Here.” He said, thrusting a white envelope towards Zorii with a brief tentative grin. 

She gingerly took it from him and her eyes widened as she opened it. 

“Hux?” She asked hopefully and somewhat disbelievingly.

“No,” Ben’s face fell. “You were right about him, what a prick.”

“Then how?” Zorrii continued incredulously.

“You said you needed it, so-” Ben felt his face turn red and he hoped they wouldn’t notice in the dimly lit room. 

“Is this kid for real?” Zorii’s question this time directed to Rey, who was refusing to look at him. 

“It takes a real saint to ask mommy.” She scoffed and before gracing him with a withering look.

Ben frowned slightly, as Zorrii’s smile dropped again. 

“Thanks Baby, but I can’t use it.” she said, trying to press the envelope into his hands. . 

“Why not?” Ben demanded, his hand closing around the piece of paper. Surely he had not just humiliated himself in front of his parents only for it to be in vain. 

“The only possible appointment is for thursday,’ Rose chimed in, “She and Poe have their act at The Cantina on Thursday. If they don’t go they lose this season’s salary  _ and _ next year’s gig.”

“What’s ‘The Cantina?” Ben asked.

“Another hotel where we do our mambo act.” Zorii answered him.

“Can’t someone else fill in?”

“I would.” Rey said, jaw clenched. “If Jannah would let me trade shifts for once.” She sounded bitter.

“I can do that.” Ben said without thinking, he’d somehow become far too invested in these people’s lives. Why could he not have kept his nose in his own business. Oh right, he had been bored out of his mind.  _ Still. _

They all eyed back at him skeptically.

“I got you the money didn’t I? Just trust me.” He said with as much confidence as he could muster and gave the envelope to Zorii again, who gave him a small smile in return.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” said Rey as she herded her friends back to the dancing.

\----

His talk with Jannah turned out to be easier than expected. It was hard to lie so blatantly to her face as to why he wanted some of the shifts to switch without revealing his true motivation. He threw it all on a supposed infatuation with one of the staff and an intention of asking them out. This was the kind of harmless, innocent rule breaking Jannah seemed to allow - in the end it was all about keeping the guests happy wasn’t it?

Ben searched the grounds with a renewed sense of hope, that the matter would finally be settled and he could let it go. Why he felt so responsible for clearing this up he still didn’t know. He was not normally the self-sacrificing bleeding-heart martyr type, but maybe this time he just felt that  _ someone  _ should do something. And if not him, who?

He found Zorii and Rey together leading another couples yoga class. Was it really necessary to wear such tight pants? Really? Ugh.

Upon his approach Rey got up from the mat in the front and called out the next pose to the group.

“Okay, now lie down, palms facing upwards, in savasana.”

She pulled him aside as Zorii went round, slightly adjusting people and watching them from the corner of her eyes.

“And?” she asked with a mixture of anxiety and despair. He had never seen her this anxious before.

“Yeah, it’s settled. You have to make up for it with a few more night shifts, but I figured-”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she repeated in a breathless mantra, suddenly flinging her arms around his neck. He stiffened at the sudden attack but before he could react she had pulled back, her hands resting on his arms. A sudden realisation seemed to be sobering her features. 

“Poe twisted his ankle last night, after you left. The idiot was trying to sneak away with someone and had a tumble down the steps.”

“Well, there must be someone who can replace him?” asked Ben, his frustration growing by the second. Could nothing just go right? Once? Rey was picking up on his shifting mood and having none of it. 

“Actually, no, since we all have to  _ work _ around here.” 

“Can’t you do it, Baby?” he hadn’t noticed Zorrii joining them, behind her the guests packing up.

“What?!” Ben and Rey both exclaimed in perfect unison. 

“Come on, Rey, you could teach anyone. He can move, all eyes will be on you anyway.” Zorrii said hopefully. Rey looked him up and down, silently contemplating.

“I can’t-” Ben started, unsure of how to finish his sentence with all the alarm bells ringing in his head.

“Yes, you can and you will. Won’t you, Baby?” Rey said decidedly.

Everything in his head screamed at him not to do it. He has done so well not to make too much of a fool of himself, yet. This was clearly a road to disaster. Then again, if he could help, shouldn’t he at least try? Isn’t that we had said to his mother only yesterday. If there was anything Ben hated it was a hypocrite. And then there was Rey. Rey with her lithe arms and freckled cheeks. He would  _ definitely _ make a fool of himself. He had two left feet. Did she know this? Probably not or she wouldn’t be asking him. Oh God help him. 

‘Fine.’

At that the girls both flung themselves at him with a squeal. 

It was going to be a long week.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Ben's alarm bells obviously sound like the kill bill sirens) (obviously)
> 
> cyber bully me: intergalacticicebear.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> Next time: 
> 
> Awkward Baby gets to actually do lil dirty dancing himself. 
> 
> Inspo for this chapter:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dAy9u0_9nM


End file.
